Gauntlet accident june/july 1940

[alex crawford]

Hi,

When 1 SAAF Sqn was formed pilots were sent to Egypt to train on Gauntlets before going onto fly Gladiators.

In the 1 Sqn SAAF war diary it mentions that on 2nd July 1940 2/Lt Pare and 2/Lt Fritz were carrying out a ground strafing exercise when both aircraft touched the ground. 2/Lt Pare was injured and 2/Lt Fritz was brought to Abu Sueir. The aircraft were left at Heliopolis.

In Springbok Fighter Victory Vol 1 East Africa 1940-41 it mentioned the same incident but mentions the aircraft were Gauntlets and that the pilots were Pare and Lt W H Morris. Pare ended up in hospital and Morris was able to land his crippled Gauntlet back at base.

On looking through my Gauntlet crash log I find that two Gauntlets were lost on 26th June, K5299 and K7891. One swung on landing and the other bounced on landing at Ismailia. Both were SOC. No pilots are mentioned.

Despite the date discrepancy it's possible these are the two aircraft flown by Pare and Fritz/Morris. I believe the war diary was written some time after the events.

Would anyone else have any further information regarding these two accidents?

Many thanks.

Alex

[Alex Smart]

Hello Alex,

From "85 Years of SAAF"
pages 147/8.
K5331 - RAF 6 Squadron - w/o 02.07.40
Losses:
K5331 - 02.07.40 - Lt. R Pare (s)

Hope this helps

Alex

[alex crawford]

Hi Alex,

Thanks. That one seems to fit the bill. I have the log book from Lt Hewitson, SAAF and he flew K5331 on 1st July 1940 while at 102 MU Abu Sueir training on Gauntlets before going onto Gladiators with 1 SAAF Sqn. He also flew it a couple of times in June.

So by June 1940 the Gauntlet was no longer on 6 Sqn strength and had passed onto 102 MU.

Just the other one to find now.

Regards,

Alex